In a civil forfeiture case, the government sues the property itself, not the person. The owner often must go to court to prove the property is innocent, and many cannot afford a lawyer to fight for a few hundred or a few thousand dollars.
The practice grew during the War on Drugs. The Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 let federal agencies keep forfeiture proceeds, and an equitable sharing program lets local police partner with federal agents and keep up to 80 percent. That gives departments a financial reason to seize.
The burden falls on people with little money and on communities of color, who face more stops and searches. In Timbs v. Indiana (2019), the Supreme Court ruled that the Eighth Amendment's ban on excessive fines applies to states. Some states, including New Mexico in 2015, have abolished civil forfeiture and now require a criminal conviction first.